With no small amount of anticipation, Luke gripped his core and artifact tightly and selected ‘Yes’. He was finally ready to advance past his threshold. The system grabbed onto the monster core in his left hand and watering can in his right hand and devoured both. It had taken a few days to source the artifact, something good enough to sacrifice, but not so good that it would be a waste of money.

  Once the two sacrifices disappeared, another popup appeared.

  He knew this question was coming, but it didn’t make the choice any easier. All four skills were endlessly useful. He couldn’t imagine giving up one of them, let alone two. But it was either this or stagnation and Luke wasn’t going to stop growing more powerful.

  In talks with Momoh, he had advised sacrificing his highest leveled skills. According to the elf lord, it would result in the best choices to replace them.

  Machine Bond and Repair Craft had been central to his build since the beginning, but Luke had accepted that he could do without them. The description for Machine Bond had always said it was for people new to the class. That meant he should be able to create a bond without the skill. He had been practicing and he was pretty sure he could create the bond without the skill. It was like training wheels and now he was ready to ride a bike without them. Giving up Repair Craft was a bigger leap. There was no way he could replicate such a complex skill on his own. Then again, if he didn't get damaged as often, Repair Craft wouldn’t be completely necessary. He had to hope that Momoh knew what he was talking about and that bigger sacrifices meant bigger rewards. Luke took a deep breath like he was about to jump off a cliff and made his selections.

  A small emptiness grew in his mana core, eating away at the two skills. A dull pain radiated from his center. It kept growing, feeling like acid was eating away at his soul. He grit his teeth and powered through.

  The sensation swapped from pain to fullness. His core was expanding. Luke felt fuller and fuller, like he was going to pop. It stopped and Luke felt like his personal core was tier four now.

  A shiver ran through him and a groan of pleasure escaped his lips. He was glad he decided to do this in private. A feeling of peace washed through him. Anxiety and fear were washed away and power and confidence took its place. A quiet chime rang, echoing through his soul. He immediately pulled up his stat sheet to see what changed.

  His buff increased again, another two points in every stat. Last time it had been an even bigger jump, but still, his buffs were insane now. It was huge, bigger than his base stats in some cases. It wasn’t the only thing to change. He noticed that his resources had changed too, more health, mana, and Machine Souls. The extra souls would be particularly useful when using Summon Vehicle.

  Those changes were soon forgotten when he pulled open his skill choices.

  Six choices, that was more than ever before. Momoh had been right, sacrificing his highest leveled skills had paid off. Luke immediately read the descriptions for every one of them.

  Combat Wrench - Repair or enhance any machine in an instant, ignoring material costs and physics. Variable costs based on effect. Power and efficacy of repairs or enhancements scale with skill level. Repairs last .42x hours where x is the skill level.

  Luke tsked. That had sounded like a fantastic skill until he got to the part where the effects were temporary. Repairing and enhancing sounded intriguing though. He wondered what an enhanced mech would be like. The temporary aspect was concerning, but after level twelve it would last over five hours and that was was plenty of time to get a broken mech back home for repairs. He put it on the maybe list.

  Helios - Creates a high energy laser attack originating from your eyes or those of your war machine. Range is 3/4 of a mile. Damage and penetration scales with skill level.

  That one made the short list. Laser eyes? Yes please. Being able to mimic Cyclops and Superman would be a fantastic addition to his repertoire. The range was fantastic too. Most of his skills had ranges measured by feet, not portions of a mile. The note about penetration was intriguing. Would it work like a piercing attack? It would probably blind monsters that it didn't outright kill.

  Armor Adjunct - Augments machine armor with magical protection. Dispels attacks from all magic types including white and black. Reduces kinetic attacks. Uses one point of mana a minute, lasts until dispelled. Protection scales with skill level.

  He had seen this skill before, but this time it was slightly better. Now the skill said it dispels magic attacks instead of reducing them. And it works on physical attacks now too. Since had just lost his Repair Craft skill, Luke needed a defensive skill. It was also the only skill that would work against mental attacks that the Basilisk and Spore Raptors used.

  Hammer Home - After successful strike, the skill repeats attacks on target, regardless of distance or cover. Each subsequent hammer costs double the amount of mana invested and has double the impact. Higher skill levels lower initial mana cost, and may dip below one for the initial hammer.

  A skill that would make aiming less vital. Tempting, particularly since Machine Bond was gone and he wouldn’t have the instinctive knowledge about where his guns were pointed at any moment. Being able to shoot around cover would be nice too. It was a good skill, particularly when you took into account the double damage of the second and subsequent shots.

  Floating Shield - Creates a transparent floating shield as an autonomous defense. High protection against all forms of direct attacks, scales with skill level. Cost is one mana every two minutes.

  Luke wanted a defense skill, and this one promised protection against all forms of attacks. He wasn't sure if he needed a shield though. He hadn’t created a shield before because he already made his armor out of the most durable material he had, there didn’t seem to be a point. Floating Shield seemed like it would be better than Armor Adjunct for most damage types, but wouldn't protect him from the mental attacks.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Vortex Door- Create a linked pair of dimensional gateways within two hundred feet of each other. Doors are fragile and temporary, but will not harm travelers. Higher levels will enhance distance, size, and aspects.

  That one just shot up to the top of the list. It was a fantastic mobility skill that would let him and his allies move freely about the battlefield. Two hundred feet was a huge distance for just the first level of the skill. He wondered how far it would go at higher levels. It was better than a teleportation skill because it seemed like it could be used more than once or for multiple people. It even had the potential for traps or tricks.

  Luke nodded to himself. Yes, Vortex Door was number one on his list. He just had to decide on his second skill. Helios was calling his name, laser eyes would be so cool. On the other hand, defense was vital. Armor Adjunct and Floating Shield would be a perfect solution to that gap in his loadout. Combat Wrench was better than the Repair Craft it replaced because it worked on all machines and allowed enhancements too. If only it wasn't temporary.

  He tapped his chin while he thought about it. Floating Shield didn’t really do much that an extra layer of armor couldn’t accomplish. He struck it from the list. Combat Wrench had to stay on the list, it was too good. Helios would be a good addition to his toolkit, but he could replicate that attack with the right runes. Armor Adjunct would protect him from mental attacks, or other challenges that couldn’t be overcome with a liberal application of force.

  That left three skills on his list Vortex Door, Armor Adjunct, and Combat Wrench. All of them good, but only two skill slots. He bit his lip. It was tough to decide. They all filled a vital role in his loadout, none of them were easy to dismiss. Particularly when you considered the effects of Murphy's Law on these skill choices. If he didn't pick Combat Wrench, he would be all but guaranteed to have his armor break at the worst possible moment. If he didn't pick Armor Adjunct he might die the next time he ran across the Spore Raptors. If he didn't pick Vortex Door, he would get swarmed or outflanked on a daily basis.

  When he considered the downsides, he realized he had to pick Armor Adjunct. That kind of protection couldn't be found in any other skill. That meant that his decision was down to either Combat Wrench or Vortex Door. Flit around the battlefield with ease, or repair and augment his armor on the fly. Both were good, and both would be indispensable parts of his combat prowess. He decided to go with the one that he really wanted to see in action. He made his choice and pushed the mental buttons for his two new skills. He felt something writhing in his core, the skills writing themselves into the center of his being. Once the changes settled, he decided to test them out right away.

  Armor Adjunct snapped up around him and multicolored fireflies started slowly swirling around him. The skill looked like an aura, not an extra layer on top of his power armor. It would be the perfect skill to test with Vanessa. Her attacks were purely magical so Armor Adjunct should stop them completely. The skill cost five mana to activate and one mana a minute to maintain. Hopefully it wouldn’t cost extra when it was hit. His mana pool was already stressed as it was.

  Next, he pointed at the warehouse wall to his left and activated Vortex Door. A black sludge ball formed at the tip of his finger and zipped over to the corrugated steel. A black oval appeared on the wall, sucking in all light like it was painted with vantablack. He fired the skill again at the opposite wall and a bright white ball zipped over and created a glowing white oval. A moment later, the center of the oval irised out and only the edge was glowing softly.

  He could see through the portal now, a view of the warehouse and himself from behind. Luke’s jaw dropped. Portals. He had a portal gun now. He walked over to the closest portal, watching himself from behind, walking further away from the viewpoint of the portal. He reached his hand through the portal and waved it around. Just before he was about to step through, the portal disappeared and his hand was shoved back.

  Luke grunted in frustration. That was a really short lived portal. Hopefully it would last longer than twenty seconds once he leveled it up. He sighed and created two more portals. The first one was the dark portal and the second the light portal. Once they finished forming a second after the flash of light, he stepped through.

  There was no sensation as he walked through, it was just like there was a hole in the wall. He turned around and touched the edge of the portal he had just gone through. It shattered as soon as his gauntlet touched it. Fragile indeed. Still, portal gun. He could already tell that Vortex Door was going to be one of his favorite skills.

  Next he climbed out of his suit of armor and sat down to meditate. It was time to practice a skill he didn't have anymore. He had given up his Machine Bond skill, hopefully he would be able to replicate the simple skill and create enough of a bond to get his class buff back. He had been so confident before, but now he was a bit nervous.

  He took several calming breaths and started circulating his mana. Skills were mostly just moving mana in set patterns. He could do this, he just had to have a small amount of mana travel from his core to his leg and back. The only tricky part was tracing the simple rune on the outside of his core when it came back. He should be able to feel the buff take effect when it worked.

  In, and out. Mana flow to his leg, and back. In, and out. Paint the rune and then do it all again. The Bond rune was a novice rune. He could do this. In, and out.

  After about fifteen minutes of work, he felt his mana speed up and get all jumbled up. He lost focus and his mana scattered. Despite the failure, he smiled. That disruption was his class buff trying to take effect. He was close.

  He failed eleven more times after that. A total of four hours passed as he focused on getting his mana to play nice. He wouldn't let himself give up, telling himself he needed the time to meditate anyway.

  Just before quitting time, he did it. His buff took effect and he felt stronger, faster, smarter. The sudden influx of stats made holding the pattern easier. Slowly, he stood up and walked around, keeping the mana pattern active. He did it. He was getting the effects of a skill without the assistance from the system. He lost the pattern a few minutes later when he got distracted. He didn't care, he would get better with practice. This was a good day.

  ???

  Outside their suits, Jeff and Gina were very different. He was bald and tall, she was short with long hair. But the power armor equalized them, giving them both a nine foot tall presence. Their mechs were both red, a color that was quickly becoming the company color because of Luke’s liberal use of the strengthening paintbrush artifact. They both carried a spear of Luke’s design, a boar spear with ice and fire runes. They stalked forward together, crouching instinctively as they hunted the invasive monsters targeting the Gem Flies.

  Luke was following close behind, acting as the ranged fighter for their little squad. The suave Max and hardbitten Daniel brought up the rear. None of them had gained classes yet, which Luke took as a good sign. The System of the World could predict exciting times and would begin its assessment period. With no one gaining the attention of the system, it meant smooth sailing for the Monster Jaegers.

  “I don’t think I really understood how boring this job would be,” Gina said quietly.

  “Yeah?” Jeff said. “Fighting monsters to death with literal magic too dull for you?”

  “That’s just it. We don’t actually fight monsters that much. In an eight hour shift, we’ll fight one, maybe two groups of monsters. That fight will take at most five minutes. That means 99% of the time, our job is to walk around the forest.”

  “There are other people who would love to take your place, Gina,” Luke said idly.

  “No, no. You pay way too good for me to quit, and I really do like fighting monsters, I just wish I could do more of it.”

  “Wish granted. My drone spotted some saber-toothed hounds in the clearing up ahead. Three of them. You and Jeff should be able to take them out on your own. The rest of us will keep watch.”

  Jeff muttered something about Gina’s big mouth and stomped forward. Luke chuckled and Daniel joined in.

  The clearing was right on the edge of the coastal marsh and the hounds were probably feeding on the Gem Flies. They needed to kill the long toothed monsters before they reduced the herd too much. But that wasn’t the main reason Luke was here.

  Even before the five of them were in sight, the three saber-toothed hounds perked up and ran forward to meet them. Their black bodies might have blended in at night, but the mid-morning light made it easy to see their approach.

  Jeff and Gina leveled their weapons at the approaching monsters. He ignited his spear with fire, she used ice. The two of them used practiced motions to break up the monster’s charge and chip away at the hound’s health. Their practice on Earth and here had made them effective fighters. But not quite perfect. They each killed a saber-tooth hound at the same time and turned to the third monster.

  It was already dead. They had let it slip through their guard in the melee and Luke had to put it down. He had used his chainsword and cut off its head.

  “Missed one,” Daniel said mockingly.

  “Looks like you did too. Skywalker killed it, not you.”

  “I took out three Tentacle Giraffes on my own, I think I could handle the little doggies you put down,” Daniel fired back.

  “Yeah, right you-” Gina suddenly cut out as a flash of light appeared ahead.

  It was one of the Gem Flies, flashing different colors as it hovered over the shallow water nearby. The distraction killed the argument, mostly because of what was behind the fly. A Swamp Basilisk had poked its head just above the water and caught them in its paralyzing gaze.

  This was the main reason Luke was here, he wanted to test something out. He allowed himself to be caught by the basilisk's magic. After he was frozen stiff, he flexed Armor Adjunct. The skill washed out in an aura of his own sparkly lights. His skill wasn’t as flashy as the Gem Flies, but it did have the advantage of protecting against magical effects.

  As soon as the skill was up, Luke was released from paralysis. He turned to see that his aura had released Jeff and Gina too. They covered their eyes and then turned away, embarrassed. Luke had specifically warned them not to look at flashing lights today. They weren’t in trouble though. Their job was as vanguard, they had Max and Daniel scanning different parts of the forest so the five of them wouldn’t get caught at the same time.

  But they had gotten lax during the argument, and the two rearguards had been caught up by the basilisk. They were standing just outside Luke’s aura so they were still frozen in place. Gina walked up to Daniel and tapped on his forehead.

  “What’s wrong? Did the supersoldier get caught looking the wrong direction, huh?”

  “Knock it off, Gina,” Luke said and walked over to them to give them the benefit of his aura. “Don’t make me file a report with HR. No bullying coworkers. Either of you. Process the hounds.”

  Gina and Daniel grumbled and got to work harvesting the monster cores and teeth. Angela had taught the company which monster parts were in demand on Kalibutan so they could sell them to supplement their income.

  Luke kept his aura up and kept watch. The basilisk saw that its main attack didn’t work and stayed in the water. Apparently some monsters had a higher survival instinct than a rage instinct.

  Once they were done, they headed out. Luke deactivated his Armor Adjunct once they were out of sight of the monsters.

  He grinned. He was really starting to get a hang of how to quickly level up his skills. Using them in new ways and in high mana areas, like an area where three monsters had just died, was the fast track to success. It put him in a good mood that lasted all the way until the meeting with Lord Momoh.

  The elf met him alone in his court room, deep in his mountain estate. He started the meeting off with a question that splashed cold water on his good mood.

  “Lord Edobar said something right before I killed him. He said you had an interdicted skill. You may not know this, but there are some skills that are frowned upon in polite society. Other skills are so bad they get banished from society altogether. And finally, some skills are so heinous that we have to kill them on sight. So, before we plan our trip to the capitol city, tell me. Which skill do you have?”

  Today’s chapter title comes from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)